Architectural Rendering

SwilleyDesign · June 5, 2019

Hey all,

I am looking for a laptop that can handle the strain of running a program/software like Twinmotion for architectural design. My current surface pro just does not cut it. I am told a gaming rig would best suit my needs. So what would you recommend that's under $1,700 as far as laptops go?

Twinmotion system requirements:

CPU or GPU ?: Twinmotion is based on Unreal Engine and makes only moderate use of CPU (although faster is still better, if one can afford it) against intensive use of GPU.

GPU: Twinmotion performance is dramatically determined by GPU capabilities. Two cards might give slightly better performance but one high-end card is a much better choice.
Both GPU speed and video memory capacity are important. The best devices on the market at the moment are the following :

Windows: Nvidia Quadro P6000 (expensive), then GeForce GTX 1080, GeForce GTX 2080 Ti, the new Titans then the GeForce GTX 1070 Ti (quite cheap). Also, always keep your video drivers up-to-date.

Mac: Radeon Pro Vega 64 16 GB, Radeon Pro Vega 56 8 GB, Radeon Pro 580 8 GB

CPU: 4 cores is recommended, having more will only benefit some specific operations (like importing a terrain) but shouldn't make much of a difference regarding the speed of the software.
In short: beyond 4 cores, prefer faster CPUs against CPUs sporting more cores.

RAM: Have enough RAM so your operating system won't need to swap data on disk. 16 GB sounds like a bare minimum if your projects are big and/or you need other CAD software running simultaneously.

Storage: Host your project and files on a fast SSD for best input/output experience (reading and writing files).